Sunday, July 1, 2012

FMQing - show-n-tell

This is something I never do;  practice Free Motion Quilting.
This morning, I prepped a few 6.5" scraps, oogled over Leah Day's free-motion-quilting project website, plugged in my Bernina stitch regulator (haven't used that in ages!!!!), and quilted away.

Something easy!  I can handle this okay.

Half-way through this design, I was getting annoyed with the stitch regulator.  I seemed "choppy-n-clunky," so I elected to turn it off for the final half (right side).   I actually like the freedom of no regulator, or at least not this one.  It almost felt like it was having difficulty "reading" the fabric; almost as if it didn't realize the fabric was moving.

This one seemed a bit more detailed, so the regulator came back on.  Kinda regretting that though.....

Looking ahead a few hundred designs, this one stood out.  Easy-peasy!  And so cute!

and then.........

I should have stopped while I was feeling good.  Gahhhhhhh!  I really loathe feathers!!!!!   It's a good thing I ran out of thread mid-quilting.  Blah.

3 comments:

Nancy said...

Do you like the regulator? I guess I have trouble with it since I learned to free-motion without it, and have to keep the speed up with the movement and all.

Perhaps more time should be spent on it

scraphappy said...

Excellent progress. So many possible patterns, all it takes is time and imagination! I promise, feathers are super fun, seriously! Those stars ARE super cute, and the easy waves are very versatile. Have you seen the pajama quilter? It is full of good ideas.

Amanda said...

I don't seem to have much luck with feathers either. I agree with you about the BRS. I spent a fortune to buy a machine that had it and loved it at first, it really helped me to get the hang of FMQing, but now I prefer to quilt without it as it doesn't feel right. It seems as if it's dragging the needle a bit and trying to chew things up.